


Bonding Is Best With Horses

by McTimeWithAutomail



Category: Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda) - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: I just want more Malon fics for Linked Universe okay?, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Wild and Malon bonding, for a gift exchange, some malink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:47:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24936271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/McTimeWithAutomail/pseuds/McTimeWithAutomail
Summary: Malon was no stranger to things that other people would consider weird or downright impossible.Aliens? Malon knew for a fact that they existed.Time travel? Why not? Her husband Link had plenty of experience with that one, and when he told her of everything that occurred of his adventures she didn’t doubt her fairy boy for even a second.Multiple reincarnations of the Hero’s Spirit who are all named Link showing up at her ranch with her husband as their leader while they traveled to different versions of Hyrule? This one was new, but she could add that one to her list of strangeness. At this point, she doubted anything could surprise her anymore.
Relationships: Link/Malon (Legend of Zelda), Malon (Legend of Zelda)/Time (Linked Universe)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 255





	Bonding Is Best With Horses

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TonyArakawa](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=TonyArakawa).



Malon was no stranger to things that other people would consider weird or downright impossible. 

Aliens? Malon knew for a fact that they existed.

Time travel? Why not? Her husband Link had plenty of experience with that one, and when he told her of everything that occurred of his adventures she didn’t doubt her fairy boy for even a second. 

Multiple reincarnations of the Hero’s Spirit who are all named Link showing up at her ranch with her husband as their leader while they traveled to different versions of Hyrule? This one was new, but she could add that one to her list of strangeness. At this point, she doubted anything could surprise her anymore.

The first time Link had shown up with all the boys she had practically been vibrating with excitement. Link had written to her about the situation before they had actually shown up in their version of Hyrule, and she barely managed to avoid bombarding Link with dozens of questions about them all. When she had asked about them, he had simply written back that she would meet them soon enough. 

When Malon finally met all of the heroes for the first time, she fought back the urge to immediately scoop them all into a hug. These brave heroes, these children, had all been shoved into a battle no child should be made to fight. It broke her heart in two to think about all of these Links having similar experiences to everything her Link had gone through. 

All the times that she had woken up to Link looking terrified and covered in sweat from the memories that had dug their claws into him. All the hushed and broken whispers that were exchanged, one attempting to comfort the other from the nightmares that played on a loop. The hands that were far too calloused from holding a sword and the scars far too numerous for someone so young. She wouldn’t wish her husband’s experiences upon even her worst enemy. 

And now there were 8 more boys who all held the tired look of someone who had fought numerous battles and whose childhood had been ripped away by the hands of the goddesses. Malon just wanted to hold these boys and never let the world’s cold grasp anywhere near them ever again. 

But even with the same Hero’s Spirit and similarly tragic childhood experiences, each one of these boys held their own charm about them. Over the time they spend at Lon Lon Ranch, Malon started to grow closer to more and more of the boys. Most of them were quite conversational, cracking jokes and making smart-mouth commentary with one another as they opened up to her. She listened with fascination at Wind’s stories of pirate life. She exchanged stories with Warriors, who apparently met her Link, who they had named Time, she knew and loved while he was still a child. She had barely known these boys for more than a couple days but she felt as if her heart had known each one for far longer. The more that she learned about each Link, the more that she grew to care for them all, and she knew that her heart had practically claimed them as her own. She even learned that the country boy, Twilight, was a descendent of her and Link. She had studied his face, slowly seeing more and more of her and Link in Twilight’s features. She had wrapped the boy up in a hug, a hand brushing the unruly brown bangs from his face. She remembered the way that Time had looked at Twilight when sharing his pride for the boy with her. He had practically glowed with pride in a way Malon had never seen before. 

However, there was still one boy she truly had yet to know. The one that everyone called Wild, with hair to match the name and a haunted look in his eyes. He bore far too many scars for someone as young as him, and yet he seemed far older than the youthful appearance he possessed. He didn’t speak as much as the others, so all she really knew about him was that he was an excellent cook and was skilled with the horses. It was interesting, watching him reminded her so much of the way Time used to be when he first returned from his adventures. 

She was currently outside, walking around the property and checking up on the boys who were in the middle of daily chores. Giving each one a wave and encouraging smile as she passed, she spotted Wild over by the stables brushing one of the horses. 

“G’morning!” Wild jumped slightly at hearing the unexpected voice, but when he noticed it was simply Malon approaching he gave a smile. Malon stood next to Wild, reaching a hand over to give the russet colored horse he was caring for a loving pat. In return the horse pressed his nose into Malon’s hand in hopes of getting more attention from her. 

“I see you’ve become acquainted with Muffin. She’s not usually this sociable with strangers, but she seems to like you.”

Wild’s eyes seemed to shine with excitement as a soft smile crossed his lips. “She’s a sweet horse. Reminds me of one of my own.”

“How many horses do you have?”

“Five.” Wild reached for his hip, grabbing an odd rectangular object that Malon had never seen anything like before. With the swipe of a finger, the screen glowed blue and a few button presses led to a screen that held pictures. Malon watched in amazement as he tapped on a photo of a very familiar looking horse. 

“This is incredible,” Malon gasped. “What is that?”

“It’s called a sheikah slate, and I’m able to use it to take photographs that I can look at whenever I want.” Wild explained the device in a soft voice as he moved the screen more into Malon’s view. A magnificent white horse adorned with a decorative white saddle was standing tall in front of what appeared to be a large statue with a horse. “This is Storm, I used to ride her but gave her to Zelda a little while back. She’s a descendant of a previous royal horse. And these are Aurora and Mustang-oh and I also have a horse named Epona!” The screen showed a familiar looking horse, with a pure white mane and chestnut fur. “I’ve been told that she’s a horse of legend.”

“That’s incredible, she looks just like our Epona!” The horse in question perked up and trotted over, nudging his favorite red-head in hopes of getting some affection. Wild turned back to the slate and after pressing a couple of buttons, blue swirls of what appeared to be some form of magic caused an apple to materialize in his hand. A scarred hand ran through the mare’s mane as the other offered the treat.

“Crazy how all this magic stuff works, isn’t it? A bunch of guys with the same name and an identical horse with the same name travelling across time and space to beat up a shadow of our likeness…”

“It is pretty crazy.” Malon gave a small laugh, leaning back against the fence. “You boys must be real tired of all this magic travelin’by now.” Wild gave a mere shrug at this. 

“I’m used to weird magic by now, and I guess I miss parts of my Hyurle. I barely finished saving my Zelda before the portal summoned me.” He paused petting the horse, turning back to his slate and pulling up a picture of a girl. The girl was smiling brightly, with long, golden hair framing her face and sparking emerald eyes. Rosy cheeks had streaks of charcoal from the pencil and notebook in her hands. “I feel bad leaving her again after making her wait for so long...she deserves better.”

Malon could recognize the look on Wild’s face. His expression mirrored that of the guilt-ridden look Time had given her the day he told her that Hylia summoned him again. The look that said so much more then he ever would about how he blamed himself for the goddesses need to drag innocent young boys into her problems. She slowly placed a hand on Wild’s shoulder, causing his eyes to snap from the fields to her face. 

“I doubt she blames you. It’s not like you decided to up and leave of your own choosing.” She then gave him a soft smile. “She’s lovely, by the way.”

The boy’s face softened as he smiled, replying “Thank you. She’s one of the most amazing people I know. She’s absolutely brilliant.”

Malon laughed softly to herself. This boy who normally seemed so reserved and as if the world had broken him seemed to practically burst with life when it came to his Zelda. This boy was absolutely head over heels for his princess, and Malon found it absolutely adorable. 

“I’d love to hear more about her sometime, and you can let me know anytime if you need good tips on girls.” She gave a teasing wink, to which Wild’s cheeks took on a slight blush and he laughed nervously before giving her a grateful smile. 

“Thank you ma’am.”

“Now, when you’re finished out here I would love some help with lunch, you’re magnificent in the kitchen.” She added before walking off. As she made her way towards the house, Time appeared next to her. One of his arms found her waist as he pressed a cheek into her hair. “You checking on our boys?”

“Yep, I finally got a chance to talk with Wild. He’s such a sweetheart. Poor boy deserves a break.” She sighed. Time smiled softly at her before one of his hands cupped her cheek. 

“I love watching you with them.” Pressing a quick kiss to her cheek, he then added “I knew you’d love ‘em.”

Malon smiled and gently ruffled Link’s hair before calling all of the boys in to start preparing for lunch. Even with all of the pain of having Time away from home and knowing all of the pain he has to go through as a hero, she wouldn’t change a thing. She was so glad that she got to know these boys, and her heart had enough room for nine heroes. Malon loved all her boys.


End file.
